5 life-lessons learnt from Chess
I’m addicted to this beautiful game known as Chess. I’m a Chess freak, frankly speaking. Give me leisure and I would start playing this game on my smartphone. My favourite platform for playing this game is Chess.com, where I can spend hours and hours indulging in the game.
Chess is one of the best inventions of humanity. It’s a microcosm of old medieval times. Many of us have a clear-cut idea that the game isn’t just a game but a simplistic miniature of real-life wars, conflicts, and struggles.
I have realised something while playing this game for time being. There are some real life-long lessons that can be extrapolated from this just board game. They aren’t just amazing but are applicable in real-life situations as well.
Here are 5 life lessons extrapolated from Chess
1. It’s not over until checkmate
Let me tell you one case of my game. Once upon a time, I was about to win. All odds were in my hand. My queen and rook were alive in comparison to his rook only. Suddenly, I did a blunder to throw away my precious queen under the attacking range of the opponent’s rook. Swoosh! He waited no time to kill my queen and my dreams to win that game.
A game of Chess ends when one player gives a checkmate to another. Before that anything could have happened. Many times, I thought I was winning the game and got complacent. Suddenly, winds turned directions and unexpected moves brought to an end my winning wagons.
Hence, it’s not over until and unless you cross the finishing line. Miracles do happen. The loser becomes the winner in a mere blink of an eye.
Some of us have the tendency to get comfortable just by seeing the finish line afore. It makes us lose concentration and effort in the task at hands and start dilly-dallying. we assume that a win is in sight and none can beat it now. But it’s been seen throughout history that miracles do happen.
It can be thought of differently as well. We should never give up even if we see a loss in sight. Miracles do happen. Winds don’t take time to change directions. You can out beat the opponent by the sheer will of fighting to the end.
2. Not let them predict your moves
The opponent was amazing. I didn’t know how but he could read my mind brilliantly. He was predicting my every move and was prepared to surprise me at every step. Making myself predictive, I easily let her overwhelm me. I lost not that game but four more games that I played consequently to take my revenge to her. Though I failed badly.
It’s all about prediction, how calculative and assumptive you can do. If the opponent can predict your moves very easily, it’s over. You can’t overwhelm it.
The key is to not let the opponent know your next moves. Make them shocked and surprised. It forces them to do blunders and gives you the thin opportunity to take over the rein.
Similarly, if you’re revealing your moves easily, real-life competitors would utilise your moves against you. They either make it better or move before you, giving you not enough time to fend off it. Hence, one shouldn’t reveal the moves before executing them.
3. Pawns are game changers
The opponent, I call, the killer. He was all-ready to interchange all the powerful pieces in the game. Queen for Queen, rook for rook, and many more pieces like that. In the end, we left with some pawns and the kings. He won just because he had one extra pawn than me. Similarly, in another game, his pawn placement failed all my attacks and strategies. Then I floundered.
I have realised the value of pawns while playing Chess. Although they seem small and ineffective, however, they are game changers. Not hyperbole to say but pawns can create a break or make the situation. You need only the right placement and can stop the most powerful moves.
Small habits are pawns that we usually underestimate the most in our lives. We think only radical and powerful things can create a winning situation. That’s ludicrous. Small habits and changes play a substantial role in the long run as they have compound power. Never underestimate small investments, small efforts, and small positive habits. They can make big things in life.
4. Patience is the key
Both reached the position of deadlock. Both were in defensive mode, no one was taking the risk. The game seemed moving to a draw. Suddenly, the opponent lost patience and made an erratic move. I grabbed the opportunity as hard as possible to climb over the opponent like a beast on its prey.
Having patience is very important for anything, be it business, skill development, and whatever you could reckon with. The lack of passion kills the momentum that you build up for so long. Things take the form when you constantly put effort while keeping impatience at bay.
The bamboo tree is a good example of the importance of being patient. Bamboo plants don’t grow much in the first 3–4 years of their life, but their growth spurs all of a sudden in the fifth year. They grow 10–12 inches in that moment of change year. It won’t happen if there is nothing like patience.
5. Never dependent too much on one plan
I was planning to give the opponent ‘8 Black Swine mate’ when it moved an unexpected piece. It led me to flounder on my plan. I won that game after I tried two more tricks.
Plans don’t work many times. It doesn’t mean that we leave to make efforts in that direction. Hence, you should keep in Plan B, Plan C…. You can guarantee yourself, your efforts, and your full-proof plans. But there is no guarantee on different factors that also play a predominant role. It’s better to have other plans so if one plan fails due to an unexpected predicament, so you are better prepared
